


In the Burning Remains

by IvoryLotus



Series: As the World Burns Around Us [2]
Category: The Lorien Legacies - Pittacus Lore
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Not Beta Read, Worried Nine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-29 12:36:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16744120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IvoryLotus/pseuds/IvoryLotus
Summary: Nine, Marina, and Six are reunited with John and the others after everything that happened in Florida and Chicago.





	In the Burning Remains

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone who read and liked my last fic, sorry for taking forever to post again. I'm still new to this whole writing thing so I probably won't post as frequently as others do. I apologize in advance for this. So this is kinda a sequel to Up in Flames but can be read as a stand alone. Enjoy!

Nine didn’t want to admit it, but when those mogs entered the hangar and those blasters started whirring to life, he honestly thought we wouldn’t make it out of there alive. He still had Eight’s body in my arms and he tried to shield his body as much as possible. I knew it wouldn’t do any good but I wanted to protect him in death, the way I failed to in life.

My last thought before the blasters opened fire was of John smiling at me. 

The blaster fire was near deafening but when the barrage came to a halt and we were all still alive with a dozen piles of dead mogs in front of us. I was so stunned I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Nice aim, dipshit!” I shout while still trying to contain my disbelief. Marina and Six seem to be in similar states. 

“What the hell is going on?” Six asks incredibly. 

“Who cares?” Nine says, while lifting Eight’s body once again. “Let’s get out of here.”

Marina and Six begin to discuss what the hell just happened but all I want to do is get out of here and find my way back to John. We still don’t know what happened to our friends in Chicago and the uncertainty has been grating on my nerves. The need to see John alive and well overriding nearly everything else. 

The cockpit opening with a hiss causes all of us to jump in alarm. It appears to be empty but I don’t let my guard down. From the cockpit a voice rings out. 

“Guys? Can you hear me?”

I freeze for a moment; completely overcome by the intense sense of relief hearing his voice fills me with. It’s like I can breathe for the first time in days and all the oxygen rushing to my head is making me dizzy. Six has already ran to the cockpit and started asking questions and I force my legs to move and join her. 

“Dude, what happened?” Nine questions simply, but that one question bears the weight of so many more. What happened in Chicago? Are you hurt? What about the others? Where are you? His constant worry over the last several days is threatening to overwhelm him. Trying to regain some of his usual persona as well as to assess if it’s really John on the other side of that speaker, Nine follows up with, “Is your brain, like, trapped in a Mogadorian ship now?”

“What? No, don’t be an idiot,” John replies in that tone of voice that says, ‘you’re a total idiot but I missed you and I’m glad you’re okay.’ John had practically perfected the exasperated but reluctantly amused tone of voice within a week of living with Nine, and he could practically see the fond quirk of his lips that generally accompanied that voice. “We’ve taken over a Mogadorian base and used their tech to hack into this ship,” John continued. 

“Nice,” Nine replies as he jumps onto the ships hood, having already received all the confirmation that he needs, and still holding Eight. “So this is our ride?” It will certainly be a lot faster than stealing a car. 

Marina joins us on the ship and asks about everyone else, to which John informs us of Ella’s capture. It makes me want to punch something but I’m still holding Eight. John says he will explain more when we get airborne, so I waste no time jumping down into the cockpit and gently situating Eight. I’m ready to see John again and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s okay. 

“Uh, John, one problem,” Six says as she follows me into the ship, clearly just as eager to rejoin our friends and leave this place behind. “How are we supposed to fly this thing?”

Nine could have hit himself for not thinking of that until now. Even if there was a ‘how to fly a Mogidorian ship for beginners’ manual, chances are it would be in Mogidorian. Nine is just about to ask John if he happens to know how to fly one of these things, because apparently he has been doing all sorts of things like taking over secret Mog bases, when another voice starts speaking over the speakers and it’s clearly not John.

I listen with growing tension as the Mog explains that the auto-navigation protocols may be damaged and we will have to fly this thing ourselves. Honestly, I’m hardly listening as I start running through a million scenarios that would warrant a Mog being anything other than dead near John. I don’t like Mogs. I would go so far as to say I hate them. The only thing I hate more, is Mogs near John. 

I’m just starting to run through different ways to kill this Mog when he introduces himself awkwardly. I recognize the name from Malcolm and clearly Six does as well and says as much. Despite what Malcolm says I’m still thinking of ways to kill him when Sam speaks up for the first time. 

“Don’t worry, Six, he’s totally not evil.” Sam states as if it’s fact. 

“Oh, well, in that case, let’s fly,” I state sarcastically as I settle back into one of the seats. At the very least he can get me to John. If I need to kill him once we get there so be it. 

Marina questions if it’s really John we are hearing, I refrain from rolling my eyes because, really? I never would have gotten in this thing if I wasn’t sure it was John. Regardless, I request John tell me about that time on the roof, mostly just to rile him up for my own amusement. John replies through gritted teeth and proceeds to convince Marina and before we know it we are on our way. 

John gives us a run down on what happened on his end, which is all kinds of messed up, before it’s our turn to update him. I stay quiet throughout the whole conversation, unsure how to tell John how badly I messed up. Marina seems about as likely to talk as me, so Six ends up telling John everything. The rest of the trip was silent given the grim atmosphere, but knowing that we were on our way to John made me relax just a little. 

When we finally arrived at our destination I was more than a little confused. I think of a secret Mog base and I think of the mountain base I was held prisoner, not a fancy suburban development with perfectly manicured lawns and shrubbery. The image of a Mog driving a minivan full of teenage girls to soccer practice suddenly popped into his head and he nearly busted out laughing. 

Nine’s mood quickly dropped however, when we landed and he turned to retrieve Eight’s body. With his super strength Eight’s body isn’t heavy, but the weight of his death settles on his shoulders, adding to the weight of the other’s Nine has failed. 

I’m just about to hand Eight to Six and Marina when the voices all around me register. 

“Whoa. There are, like, some random creatures watching us right now.” I’m not sure what to make of it all. They don’t seem hostile so I allow Six’s question go unanswered as I concentrate on finding some answers of my own. Nine spots John jogging towards him just as he finishes getting the whole story from what are apparently a bunch of Chimaerae. Only John would take over a Mogidorian secret base and find a bunch of Chimaerae to ally with us, Nine thinks. 

“So many Chimaerae,” Nine says excitedly as he gazes toward the Chimaerae. “That’s awesome.”

“We named the chubby, lazy one after you,” Sam replies, always one to burst my bubble. 

“Less awesome.” I reply, but most of my attention is on John as he makes his way through all the greetings. When he walks up to me I gently pass Eight to him before jumping down to stand next to him as Malcolm wheels the gurney forward. 

Marina mentions the electrical field around Eight’s body, which Adam awkwardly explains keeps the specimen fresh. 

“Specimens,” Nine repeats dryly. Offended that his friend would have become a test subject. It makes him want to vomit and hit the Mog all at once.  
The Mog apologizes and John is quick to reassure him that it’s alright. It’s not. Nothing about this is alright, but John seems to trust the Mog, Adam he corrects mentally, so Nine will play nice. 

When Marina asks what will be done with Eight, we all come up short. None of us know what kind of customs we had on Lorien, and it hits home like a punch to the gut just how much the Mogs have stolen from us. Eight’s body is wheeled inside by Malcolm and Marina with Adam following behind. 

When it’s just the four of us left I turn to John and clap him hard on the back and squeeze his shoulder tightly, letting him know just how glad I am to see him, before I open my mouth to break the tension. 

“So did I mishear over the communicator, or did you send your girlfriend off on a super-sexy secret mission with her ex-boyfriend?” Bringing up Sarah wasn’t exactly what I was planning on doing but sometimes, okay most of the time, my mouth has a mind of its own. I think I’m the only one that knows John and Sarah are taking a break from their relationship, John and Sarah don’t even know that I know, but because my hearing is so damn good I overheard their conversation. 

It happened back in Chicago before everything went to hell in a handbasket. Six and Sam were on the roof having their heart to heart when I overheard John and Sarah talking. Sarah obviously loves John with her whole heart, honestly it’s hard not to love him, and John loves Sarah but he has some reservations about the relationship that she seemed to have picked up on. As a result, she confronted him about it and he told her the truth; he loved her and wanted nothing but happiness for her, but something was preventing him from loving her wholly with everything he was. 

In all honesty, she took it better than anyone could have guessed. She simply told him that she loved him, and if he needed time to figure things out, she would be happy to give him that. Nine is honest enough with himself to know that if their situations had been reversed he would not have accepted it so calmly. If he ever had John in that way, he would never let him go, but since he has never had him it’s the only thing he can do. 

Sarah and John look perfect together, and seeing them together makes me ache a little inside knowing that the best I can hope for is friendship. I know he will probably go back to Sarah when the dust finally settles and everything is over. I have accepted that John will never love me the way I love him. If all I ever get is his friendship and knowing that he is happy, that will be more than enough for me. 

Nine is brought back to the present when John sternly replies to his earlier joking. “We’re fighting a war here, Nine, it’s not a joke.” An awkward pause ensues but is soon broken by the type of smile only Nine can bring to John’s face. Nine basks in the small victory and smiles himself. “Also,” John continues, “shut up. It’s not super sexy. What does that even mean?”

“Wow, you really need my guidance,” Nine states, smile growing as he throws his arm around John’s shoulders. “Come on. I’ll explain what sexy is.” 

Nine refrains from saying the boy needs to look in the mirror, and is rather proud of his self-restraint. 

“I know what it- ugh,” John starts then stops like he is refraining from saying something himself before he redirects the conversation. “Why am I even discussing this with you?”  
John shoves Nine in clear frustration, but Nine isn’t ready to let go after just getting him back, and holds on tighter despite John’s protests. 

“Come on, Johnny, you need my affection now more than ever.” I state as I start to walk towards the house to find somewhere away from everyone else. The past several days has left me hollowed out and I need some quality time alone with John to help fill in the missing pieces and re-forge what’s left of my broken soul. 

John seems to be able to sense the heaviness I’m hiding behind jokes and a headstrong attitude, and looks at me in concern, letting himself be led away from everyone else. I shake my head at his questioning look, and he seems to understand without me saying anything, that words can’t describe what I’m feeling. I just need him to be there. I still have my arm over his shoulders, and he wraps his arm around my waist as he leads us through our new base to an empty room. 

Honestly, I’m fairly certain my arm over his shoulders and his arm around my waist are the only things keeping me up right now. I haven’t slept in days and it’s finally catching up with me. John sits me on the edge of a bed and I practically collapse onto it. 

“Get some sleep,” John orders, clearly seeing my exhaustion. “I will keep watch.”

I want to protest, say that I don’t need to be put to bed like a child, but my eyes are already closing. My final thought before sleep takes a tentative hold is that John found me again.

**Author's Note:**

> So Nine's nap doesn't last to long before the Feds show up but I couldn't get this ending out of my head so there it is. I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
